When differentiating text difficulty, which approach supports students' access to grade-level content?

• A. Lower text difficulty permanently for all students, with no supports.
• B. Provide leveled texts at or near grade level with supports; gradually increase complexity.
• C. Require all students to read the same high-level text without supports.
• D. Avoid any decodable texts.

Answer: (B)

Providing access to grade-level content means differentiating text difficulty in a way that includes supports, so students can engage with the same ideas while building the necessary skills. Using texts that are at or near grade level and scaffolding them with supports like vocabulary previews, guided questions, chunking the text, and graphic organizers helps students decode and comprehend without being overwhelmed. As learners grow more proficient, you gradually increase the text’s complexity, maintaining access while stretching their abilities. This approach avoids permanently lowering difficulty for everyone, which limits growth, and it also avoids forcing all students to read the same high-level text without supports, which can exclude learners who need scaffolds. Decodable texts can be part of instruction, but the focus here is that providing leveled text with appropriate supports and a plan to raise complexity best supports access to grade-level content.